Real Madrid one win from crown after edgy win

Grenada, July 14

Real Madrid need one victory to secure the La Liga crown after they held off a second-half comeback from Granada to win 2-1 and move four points clear of Barcelona on Monday night. With two games left, Real Madrid will be crowned champions if they beat Villarreal at home on Thursday regardless of how Barca fare at the Camp Nou against Osasuna.

But they were made to sweat by a Granada, who have been arguably the division’s surprise of the season after being promoted from second tier last year.

Ferland Mendy and Karim Benzema looked to have set Real Madrid on course for a comfortable win but Granada were transformed after the break and Darwin Machis’s 50th-minute strike gave them hope. The increasingly nervous Madrid were clinging on by the end and needed Sergio Ramos to clear one shot off the line as Zinedine Zidane’s side dug in for a ninth consecutive victory.

United stay fifth after draw

Manchester: Manchester United’s Champions League qualification hopes suffered a blow after an equaliser deep in stoppage time from Michael Obafemi earned Southampton a 2-2 draw in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Monday.

United, unbeaten in 18 games in all competitions, were poised to move up to third after Anthony Martial’s 23rd-minute strike had put them 2-1 ahead. They had fallen behind to an early Stuart Armstrong goal before Marcus Rashford equalised.

But on the day that second-placed Manchester City’s two-year ban from European football was overturned on appeal, meaning only the top four will qualify for the Champions League as usual, United’s late lapse left them fifth on 59 points. Leicester City are fourth, ahead of United on goal difference, with Chelsea third on 60 points. — Agencies

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